The Fish Pod offers children the opportunity to say goodbye to deceased pets properly.

Losing the family pet can be particularly hard on children, and may be their first experience with death. Rightly or wrongly, fish tend to be the 'starter pets' for kids, but what happens when that pet passes away?

Unfortunately, the first instinct with many parents when disposing of a dead fish is to flush it down the toilet, which is wrong for several reasons:

Many times, fish are not dead and mistakenly flushing them leads to infestations in storm drains, ponds and rivers that kill the ecosystem, create a competitor and predator to local fish and affect the growth of native plants. If released, goldfish can often grow to the size of dinner plates and are now enlisted in the "Invasive Species List."

If the fish has passed away, whatever they died from could eventually get into waterbodies and harm fish and pollute the water.

So why not provide these pets with a proper burial in the garden? US-based company Paw Pods offers a more sensible way to say goodbye.

The Paw Pods’ Fish Pod is a small fish shaped pod to help young fishkeepers avoid the trauma of seeing a pet flushed down the toilet. This also may serve as an important teaching tool for parents, death can be very difficult to explain, let alone comprehend for children, make them a part of the process.

Creativity helps the healing process. With Paw Pods 100% green, biodegradable pet burial pods, the fish's owner can decorate the pod with their pet’s name and pictures to creating a pet memorial and leave their sadness behind.

Paw Pods are available for fish and other pets.

100% Biodegradable

No artificial colours

Made with sustainable bamboo and rice husk

Constructed to be as sturdy as possible while remaining eco-friendly

Can be drawn on or painted as a coping tool by owners and children

Available in a variety of sizes and shapes

Prices range from $9.99-149.99 — a fraction of the price of a traditional pet casket.

New for 2017, Paw Pods is working on a crowdfunding campaign through the RedCrow platform to increase their marketing and advertising, fulfil large orders, and build out a digital platform to connect pet lovers around the world.